Son of Coul
by mari681
Summary: Rated T for safety What happens when the Avengers find out that Phil Coulson is still alive? established Phil/Natasha/Clint, established Tony/Steve, other pairings
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I am not abandoning any of my stories. I just... watched Agents of SHIELD on Hulu, and was absolutely enthralled with how Coulson was still alive. My first real attempt at writing Avengers fanfic, and I actually tried to keep them all in character to the movies. I have not read enough of the comics to base them on that. This will be another one I update sporadically, as my school work and muses allow.

* * *

"And you knew of my shield-brothers' life, yet you did not tell me, Heimdall? You saw my warriors, my family, his mates, sorrowing for his life?"

Heimdall merely bowed his head before his prince, no hint of apology in his voice nor his composure. "I am sorry my prince. But it was not my tale to tell, nor my sorrow to relieve. I am merely the guardian, the guide of the bifrost. I cannot take part in even Asgardian quarrels, much less Midgardian affairs. That, my prince, has been a part of your training since your birth. You know it as well as I do."

Thor whirled, his eyes glinting with the same aftershocks that the night sky held after lightning struck the ground. But he didn't say a word, merely gestured for Heimdall to open the Bifrost. Without a word in return, Heimdall merely obeyed the unspoken command of his prince. It was in his right as Heir to Asgard, and also in his right to pass on this news, as part of the Avengers... Though some of them already knew.

* * *

Clint vaulted down from his post on the high ceiling beams of the meeting room, nearly vibrating in fury. It had been nearly a year. A year of tantrums and tears. A year of breakdowns and picking up the pieces. A year of misery. And for what? Simply for the sake of meshing 'The Avengers' together as a team. Oh, he had better not had a hand in planning this, this farce, or he would be dead before he even entered Avengers' Tower.

Clint calmed himself. No. First thing was to tell the rest of the team, and restrain Nat from going after her knives. Then he would find the ass, and shock some sense into him... perhaps quite literally. Stark had made a prototype of a taser arrow that he had just been dieing to try.

* * *

Tony stumbled back as a burst of wind picked up and swirled in his lab. That was impossible. No air was allowed down in his domain, except properly vented, hygenic, sterile synthetic air. Unless... No. Surely even that idiot wouldn't pull something like this. He sighed as lightening appeared in the tornado-like swirl. Of course. Never say never. But the big guy had better have a proper answer for beaming in like that, in this place, disturbing his work.

As soon as the wind died down, Tony didn't give the Asgardian a chance to speak. "What the hell do you think you are doing, Thor? Haven't I made it clear that none of you idiots are allowed down here, not even the big green guy? I..." he stopped mid-rant when he saw the look on the Godlings' face. It was such an obvious and odd mixture of rage, sorrow, joy, and pure unadultererated hyperness that even the famously obtruse Tony Stark noticed it. "Thor? What is going on?"

The prince didn't answer, not exactly. Merely gritted his teeth, and ground out. "Thee must assemble the Avengers, Man of Iron. I have news courtsey of Heimdall that thou all must hear, and at once."

Tony merely nodded. "Jarvis, assemble the Avengers. Code Pink."

* * *

The Avengers all met up in the main living area of the tower, all mumbling about one thing or another. Well, not all, was Natashas' thought, as she fingered the pendent she always wore, even on a mission. Clint was at SHIELD hq. Pepper was at Stark Industries. Bruce was at a conference in Switzerland. And P... Well. In fact, it was only her and Steve currently in the large room.

Glancing at the super soldier, she had to hide a giggle, or a smirk. After all, it wouldn't do for the Black Widows' famously icy facade to be cracked by a pair of care bear pajamas, not even in private. Not after the last year. Not when she had finally got her facade back up to where it should be. Anyways, "So, Steve. Where is lover-boy? Wasn't it he who called this farce of a meeting?"

* * *

The famous Captain America rubbed his eyes, blinking at the sudden bright light in the living quarters. What on earth made his lover think to call an assembly, and one with 'code pink', whatever that was.

Yawning, Steve sighed when he saw that Natasha was the only one beside him in the room. And that she was fully dressed. Whereas he had only thought to throw on the nearest pajamas, for modestys' sake, the Black Widow was impeccably dressed, as always. And here he was, in the silly pink kitten pajamas Tony had gotten him for christmas, this last year. The year in which... In which everyone had healed, though with many scars. And none of them, none of them had escaped this last year without some scars.

"So, Steve. Where is lover-boy? Wasn't it he who called this farce of a meeting?"

Steve was too tired to do anything but shrug. But they both looked up when Tony burst into the room, at a speed totally unlike himself.

Tony skidded to a stop, and blinked at the near empty room. "Where is everyone?"

Steve sighed. "Tony, love. It is just us three here to..." he trailed off as Clint swung down from the ventilation shaft, a look on his face none of them had seen for the past year. "Clint? What happened at HQ?"

"Phil is alive." was all he said, just as Thor stepped into the room.

"Oh, good, you know of the Son of Couls' miraculous recovery."

Other than Thor and Clint, the others just stared for a second. Nat was the first to speak, ignoring Thor for the moments. "Really, Clint. This joke is in bad taste. And to get Thor in on it? How could you?"

Clint held up in hands in defense, a rather hurt look on his face, but Thor spoke up. "No, Lady. This is no joke. Your mate truly is alive. Heimdall confirmed it when I asked of him. I am only sorry I didn't know sooner, but it is the way of the guardian of the Bifrost."

Natasha blinked, deciphering the words, then turned on her heels to leave the room. Clint grabbed her wrists, before she could. "No, Nat. We can't go in without a plan. You are not going alone."

Natasha struggled for a bit, but the males could tell her heart wasn't in it. If it was, Clint would have been on the floor in pain, regardless of their relationship. She sighed, before going limp in Clints' arms. "Fine. We plan, then we retrieve him, then we make him regret this farce."

The men all winced at that, even Thor, but silently agreed. Phil had been a part of them, they had trusted him, even in the short time they had known him. He was the one who had brought them together, who had created the family.

It was Tony who voiced what they all thought. "How could he have lied to us?"

* * *

They finally agreed to divide and conquer. Pepper was brought in, as the one least likely to murder Fury while distracting him, though even that was chancy, once Clint fully explained what he had heard. Tony would hack into SHIELD systems, to both disarm the security, and locate the lost sheep of the Avengers. Thor freely agreed to be transportation, once he was convinced that he wouldn't do good with stealth. Clint, eyes on high, like always. Natasha, well, Natasha was the retrieval part. They could only trust that she wouldn't immediately start skinning Clint.


	2. The Team

A/N: Don't expect this quick an update every time! This plot-bunny has just caught my attention at the moment. :P R&R

* * *

Pepper fought hard to keep her usually steady mask up as she walked through the halls of SHIELD HQ, her black and red Louboutin heels clicking sharply, almost angrily, against the tiled floor. Realising her stride, Pepper paused for a second, taking a deep breath. She could do this. She even had a reason to be angry at Fury. A reason other than the true reason.

As she neared his office door, she raised her voice. "NICK FURY! You come out here right this moment."

"Ms. Potts. Fury is not i..." started the brown-headed woman who opened the door a crack, before she was interrupted by an obviously irate Pepper.

"Agent Hill. Do not dare give me that rigamarole. After years of dealing with Tony, I know a brush-off." Pepper paused, before raising her voice once more. "AND FURY had better get out here before I kick that door in."

The director of SHIELD finally showed his face. "Potts. That isn't needed. Now what has Stark done?"

Pepper glared, tapping her toe. "It isn't what Tony has done, Mister. It is what you have did. Going behind both mine and Tonys' back, using your political influence, the excuse of 'top-secret', to use Stark Industries as your own private weapons factory? How dare you?"

"Miss Potts. I ha..."

"No. You listen here, I..."

* * *

Tony leaned back in his chair, smirking at the live feed of the hallway outside of Furys' office. That one-eyed bastard was finally getting what he deserved. Hah. And he hadn't even known about Furys' deception. Good Pepper! "Jarvis?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Record Peppers' conversation with Fury. It should be entertaining later."

"Of course, sir." Jarvis replied, with a slight hint of... glee in his tone.

Cracking his knuckles, Tony got back to work. Time to absolutely ruin SHIELD security, and to locate Steves' greatest fan. After all, what is a Captain without his fans?

* * *

They were standing on the helipad of Avengers' tower. "Are you sure I am not needed, my shield-siblings? I could prove of great assistance."

Both Clint and Natasha shook their heads, but it was Clint who spoke. "Sorry, Thor. But this is something for Nat and I to do."

Thor heaved a great sigh. "As you say, Hawkeye. You and the Lady Natasha shall retrieve the Son of Coul by yourselves. Are you ready?" at their nods, he gripped his hammer.

"Heimdall! Now, by command of your prince."

* * *

Natasha and Clint shared a glance, before going their separate ways. They knew what to do, after years of working as SHIELD agents, after working together under the same handler, under... under Phil. Natasha through the main hallways, with Tony in her ear as directions to Phil. And Clint? Following the same directions, but through the ventilation, and as always, a few steps behind Natasha.

He sighed. No. No distractions on a mission, no distracting thoughts. Just attention on the voice in his ear, and attention on his surroundings. Yes, the voice was different, much more sarcastic, but it was the same instructions. And it was familiar territory, not enemy ground, but it was enemy ground in this mission. And perhaps for the future.

* * *

Natasha padded through the hallways, like she always did. She nodded to the other agents, and smirked at the yelling clearly audible even this far from Furys' office. She did her best to keep the rage from her face, to keep her calm, impenetrable mask up. She didn't have the luxury of an acceptable excuse that Pepper did, so she had to fake calm.

*Oookay, turn right. According to the schematics and reports, Phil-boy is stabled in exactly the same prison as before this whole thing blew up.*

Natasha growled. Thank goodness the whole place was used to Agents having one-sided conversations with their handlers. "Don't think I won't castrate you for any comments you make during this briefing."

*Sorry, sorry Natasha. I assume you can take it from here.*

"Of course, idiot. Leave me alone." Natasha nodded in satisfaction as the line went silent. Finally the idiot would let her concentrate on her assignment - and on not harming her erstwhile lover once she found him.

* * *

The man sighed, lovingly patting the hood of the red car he was leaning on. Huh. Lovingly. How sad, that he, a warm-blooded man with two lovers still alive, was reduced to a... rather silly attachment to a car. Although Lola wasn't any ordinary car... He sighed once more, before frowning as the pager in his inside shirt pocket buzzed. It should only go off if someone managed to sneak into his rooms.

Pushing off from Lola, careful not to scratch the paint, Phil Coulson strode towards his rooms, a storm brewing on his face. Whichever agent it was that was having a joke would get a demotion, for sure, if not outright suspension from duties.

* * *

When she got into the suite of rooms, Natasha could only blink fast. They were so... Phil. Blank, dull of both life and personality. The perfect disguise, even in a room. But... As she looked further, she saw other things. Signs of Phil, the real Phil. The Phil she and Clint knew. Pictures of her. Pictures of Clint. Pictures of all three of them. His little model cars. One of her knives, and one of Clints' arrowheads.

But no sign of the man himself. "Stark! Where the hell is Phil?"

The earpiece buzzed back to life. *Sorry, Natasha. He is en route to your location right now. And... from the looks of the vid feeds, he is angry as hell about something.*

"STARK!" fumed Natasha. "This is not how this was supposed to go."

*Sorry, Widow. But it is how it will go. Buck up, and manage this. Stark signing off.*

"STA..."

"'Tash?"

* * *

"'Tash?" Phil knew he should had just turned around when he saw the familiar head of red, but her name just slipped out. He knew he was in trouble when the red-head spun around, a knife in hand.

"Sorry, love."

* * *

"Nat, you weren't supposed to knock him out." was Clints' only comment as he swung down when he saw her lugging an unconscious Phil.

"I know, you idiot. But I couldn't help it. He was just... Just so Phil, Clint. And he dared to call me... Well, after so long." Natasha kept blinking.

Clint sighed, carding a gentle hand through her curls. "Of course, Nat. He missed us. Remember, it wasn't entirely his choice. 'Once an agent of SHIELD, always an agent.'."

She shook her head, brushing off the hand. "Yes, I know. I am an agent, after all."

Clint let it slide, knowing she would let her mask fall once at home. "Now, how do you propose we lug this unconscious lump all the way to Avengers' Tower?"

She smirked at him. He backed up a tad bit. "Nat... I don't like that look. What are you planning?"

"Oh, my dear Bird. You get to drag him through the shafts."

"Oh, no. No, no, no."

She advanced, "Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes."


	3. Annnddd Pepper

A/N: This chapter is rather Pepper-centric, but I like her, when she isn't with Tony, that is. Sorry. I personally, think I kept her in character fairly well.

WARNING! Contains slight triggers of self-mutilation. Only in passing, but...

* * *

Pepper sighed, hand massaging the bridge of her nose when she stepped into the main level of Stark Tower from the elevator. "You do know, he is not an enemy?" she paused, before moving her hand to her hip, after taking a closer glance. "And why is he unconscious? Tony? Clint? Thor?"

"It was me, Peps." said Natasha, head held high. "It was the easiest solution."

Pepper merely raised an eyebrow, but shook her head. "Fine. You lot, clear out. I'll stay with him until he wakes up. Fury wants to see you."

As they exited, Pepper shot over her shoulder, "And behave! I already gave him a good dressing down. Do not make him suspicious of you."

Tony shouted back, "We know, doll."

"Tony Stark!" was Peppers' only comment.

"Sorry! I'll shut up now."

* * *

As soon as they were left alone, Pepper poked Phil. Hard. In the stomach. "You idiot. I know you are conscious."

Phil groaned, before rolling over and sitting up. "Pepper. Who let it slip to the terror twins that I was still alive."

Phils' head rocked back with the force of Peppers' open-handed slap. "You... you... You man! And here I thought you were better than Tony! This is exactly the sort of stunt he would pull."

"Pepper, I couldn't..."

"Oh, don't give that whole 'clearance level' rigamarole Clint heard you and Fury sprouting off. I have the same level of clearance as Fury, and he knows it. So do you. After all, you were the one to insist I needed it to deal with the Avengers!" Pepper stalked back and forth across the floor. "Why, Phil? You weren't the one that had to console them! We were already a bloody team, and a hell of a good one!"

"Fur..."

"A better excuse, Phil. If nothing else, your lovers deserve one."

"I can'..."

"Oh, yes, you can. Fury needs not know."

"NO, Pepper. I cannot tell you, because I don't know why. Up until now, it seemed like a good idea."

Pepper gaped at him. "A good idea? Really, Coulson?" she spat, voice suddenly going cold. "You thought it a good idea to drive Natasha to cutting herself, before Clint took her knives away? You thought it a good idea to drive Clint away from his bow and arrows? They blamed themselves for your "death", you know. All of the team did. Steve overcompensated by placing the blame of any missions gone wrong on his shoulders. Bruce refuses to set foot in the tower, though he still goes on missions. And Tony? Do you know how many bloody suits of armor he has now? Fourty. Fourty different suits. And one for everyone on the team. Everyone, including you!" She paused, before heading towards the door. "You know what? I give up. Leave. Go back to your precious Fury. I'll make up some lie to tell the team. They don't need you, after all. We thought you missed us. I'm leaving. Fury wanted all of the Avengers, after all. Including me."

* * *

Phil gaped at her back. What on earth had happened? Pepper never lost her temper. Never.

But then... It seemed as if Pepper was actually a working part of the team, from her words. If Tony had made her a suit... If Tony had made her a suit, then she would certainly be out on missions. And missions... They changed a person. So did loss.

But... Pepper was right? Why did he listen to Fury? He never listened to Fury, not really. Oh, he let Fury think he was in charge, but he hadn't been since he was assigned 'Tasha and Clint. And he would never follow Fury blindly again. Not if this was what came of that folly. Never again. Oh, what had he done? Had he ruined everything? And why had he done what he had done?

* * *

Pepper slid down to the floor against the wall just outside of the doorway, out of sight of Phil. And that was why she never let Tony rile her up. When she lost her temper, she said things that were not her secrets to tell. And she said them to hurt, to burrow into the deepest crevices of human nature. And, oh, there were many, many things she could say to hurt Tony. And her temper was less controlled now, and had been for the last year.

But, oh. Everyone would want to strangle her. Especially after she sent them on a fools' errand, merely to annoy Fury. Especially after they learned of her security clearence - higher than any of theirs - and Jarvis would tell Tony, and Tony would tell the rest. Well, okay. It wasn't only a fools' errand. She had hoped to be gentler on Phil than any of the others would be. But no, no. She just had to lose her temper.

She sighed inaudibly, before pushing herself up off the wall. Time to fetch the crew before they permanently damaged Fury,or SHIELD HQ. And if Coulson wasn't here when they got back, well, good-riddance, and she would keep the 'twins from chasing after him. If he left, then he wasn't good enough for them; wasn't the man they had all thought he was - though that was debateable right now.

* * *

The black and red Louboutin heels graced the floor of SHIELD HQ for the second time in one day, causing all the agents and handlers to scatter before her. (And to follow in her wake. After all, if there was going to be another show such as the one this morning, they all wanted front-row seats! But not too close, or they were likely to get burned.) "FURY! I Neeed you!" called Pepper in a sing-song voice. After all, the Avengers were likely to be bugging him, so they would flock to her voice like lambs to their mamas' baa'ing.

"Peppy!" called Tony, as he bounced along, dragging Fury with him by the ear. Furry says he didn't call us. Should we believe him?"

The other three followed behind more sedately, not bothering to hide smirks.

Pepper sighed once more. Why her? "Who gave Tony coffee?"

All three raised their hands, while Thor added, "And chocolate-covered coffee beans, Lady Pepper."

Pepper hide her own smirk, and turned to the Director with an apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry Director, but without Phil - may he rest in peace -, I am run ragged with these four. I can barely keep them in line in public, much less when they are out and about." she paused, and pasted a confused look on her face. "And, after all, you said you wanted to see us all? I had to... freshen up a bit, so I sent these four ahead." she paused for a minute, before her face lit up, as if she suddenly realized something. "Oh! Once again, I'm sorry Director. My mind slipped. See how tired I am?" She turned to her erstwhile once-boss. "Tony Stark! Put that poor man down immediately."

"I don't want to."

"Tony..."

"Oh, fine. But you are both meanies."

Pepper spoke into her earbud, ignoring Fury, who was rubbing his ear. "Hap, Pull the car around, please?"

*Of course, Pep. Did the team get Fury?*

"They fed Tony chocolate and coffee, and I don't trust him in his suit." Was Peppers' only reply, the only answer she could give in ear-shot of the director.

*I'll take that as a yes. Good!*

"Thanks, Hap."


	4. Explanations

A/N: Okay, slight mistake. I somehow lost Steve in the last chapter. Just imagine he was there, silently sighing over the ridiculous hyperness of his lover, K? Sorry! And this chapter was really hard to get out.I think because I have trouble writing an uncertain (and weak?) Coulson, when we have really only seen him as strong and capable. And this is sorta short.

Oh, and I couldn't resist the Star Trek reference. If you see it, kudos!:P

* * *

When they were safely in the car, Steve turned to Pepper. "Why did you come? I though..."

Pepper did the unthinkable, causing the others' jaws to drop as she interrupted Steve - no, ignored him. "Tony. Did you really have chocolate and coffee?"

"Yes, Peps." spoke up Natasha, being the only one to risk a snapping Pepper when she got riled up into one of her tempers. "I gave him the coffee, but I swear, I didn't know Steve had given him chocolate already this morning. And then Thor gave him those horrible chocolate covered coffee beans."

Tony growled. "Right here! And I tortured Fury for everyone. Surely I deserved chocolate and coffee?"

"No!" chorused everyone as one, even Happy from the front seat.

Tony sighed, before straightening up, only to lean against Steve. "So, Pepper. Did you leave Agent alone?"

"Well, Agent Coulson is a perfectly capable man, isn't he? And you yourself has said that no one can ever break into Avengers' Tower."

* * *

Phil was sitting at the kitchen table when the Avengers came back, nursing a glass of water. He looked up when the elevator door opened, and sighed as they stopped in their tracks a few steps out of the elevator door and just stared at him. He deserved, he really did, but... it still hurt.

Of course, Tony was the first to break the silence. "Agent? Are you okay, or should we have Natasha knock you out again?"

Natasha swatted Tony on the back of the head. "Shut up, Stark." then turned her eyes onto Phil. But she didn't say anything else, just turned on her heel, and closed the elevator door behind her.

"'Tash..." started Phil, standing up to follow.

"No." said Clint, moving to stand in front of him. "You will explain yourself first. Better than the idiocy you and Fury were telling your newest project."

"I can't. Thinking back, I have no idea why I hid. All I know is that until I saw 'Tash in my rooms, I thought that Fury was right in everything he said."

"Son of Coul, does that sound familiar to you?" was Thors' comment.

Steve spoke, a frown on his face. "It is possible. SHIELD kept the device. But why would they want Phil separated from us? It doesn't make sense."

* * *

Natasha entered their level, wishing she had a door to slam. Or her knives. But she was forced to give up her weapon when she entered Avengers' tower. Admittedly, she could get them back, but the team trusted her. The team. They had all trusted Phil, and had mourned him. But here he was. What excuse could he give that made up for the year that he had torn apart?

"Ms. Natasha, do you require anything?" came the voice of Jarvis.

She sighed, sitting down cross-legged on the floor. "Can you route a video feed of the others in here, Jarvis?"

"Certainly, Ms. Natasha.

* * *

"They want us to have an unbiased handler. One who is willing to use us as disposable. And Agent here wouldn't be able to do that, nor would he give us up." Tony replied.

Phil coughed. "I'm right here." When they looked at him, he continued. "Yes, Fury has the device. And, yes, it does make sense. Stark is right. Fury has me leading another initiative, one that would leave me with no free time. Last I heard, Maria - Agent Hill - was to take over the Avengers initiative."

* * *

"Jarvis, replay what I missed, please?"

"Of course, Ms. Natasha."

* * *

"'Tash..." started Phil, standing up to follow.

"No." said Clint, moving to stand in front of him. "You will explain yourself first. Better than the idiocy you and Fury were telling your newest project."

"I can't. Thinking back, I have no idea why I hid. All I know is that until I saw 'Tash in my rooms, I thought that Fury was right in everything he said."

"Son of Coul, does that sound familiar to you?" was Thors' comment.

Steve spoke, a frown on his face. "It is possible. SHIELD kept the device. But why would they want Phil separated from us? It doesn't make sense."

* * *

"I'm going to kill him." was all Natasha said, getting up quite calmly. "I am."

"Ms. Natash..."

"Jarvis, power down. Authorization Alpha-Alpha-3-0-5."

* * *

"Jarvis, has SHIELD noticed Agents' absence yet?" spoke Tony, out of the blue.

"Tony, why does it matter?" queried Steve.

Tony merely waved a silencing hand at him. "Jarvis? Answer." when there was no reply, he frowned. "Jarvis?"

"He must be sleeping, Stark."

Giving a disgusted glare to Thor, Tony went over to a panel in the wall, starting to type. "No, of course not. Jarvis is 'awake' 24/7. He should not be able to ignore my voice, unless somebody shut the system down entirely. And I am the only one who should have the authorization code." he paused, slamming a hand hard against the wall next to the panel. "Damn! Who the hell has the code?" he glared at everyone else in the room. "Who shut down my tech?"

Pepper sighed. "Think logically, Tony. Is there anyone who could have guessed it?"

"Only Bruce." he glared around once more. "He is the only one who'll watch reruns of old shows with me."

"What about 'Tasha?" asked Phil. "She is the only one not in here."

"Tony, if she heard our conversation..." trailed off Clint. "If she told Jarvis to reroute the video..."

"Will she not go after the Director?." ended Thor.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Of course JARVIS would be the first thing Tony would fix. And, I can just see Nataha as a Princess Bride fan.

* * *

Natasha - No, the Black Widow - silently slipped through the halls of SHIELD. She was on the prowl for Fury, a prey possibly even more dangerous than Loki himself. And she still needed to decide what to do with him when she found him. He deserved to die, but SHIELD would fall apart without Fury. And was Maria any better than Fury? As Furys' left-hand, surely Maria had known about Phil.

No, that was superfluous. The only thing that mattered right now was getting to Fury, and wringing his neck. And soon. It wouldn't take long for Stark to discover Jarvis was disabled, and even less time for them to figure out she had caused it. Then Stark would be out for _her_ blood.

Heh. Tony would be mighty confused, though. He had never realised she had watched Star Trek with him, merely up in the vents with Clint.

Oh, Clint. She had to find Fury. Neither Clint or Phil would let her harm Fury, if they caught up to her. Sure, they were upset with him, but... they weren't her, weren't the Black Widow. He would never hurt her team, her family, again.

* * *

"So, Natasha is stalking Fury?" asked Tony, "Must we stop her? If Fury is using the Tesseract, we need to stop him anyways."

Clint, stealthily linking hands with Phil, responded quietly, almost inaudible, "But what if he is being used by it?"

Steve sighed. "Then we have to stop her, before she gets to him." He looked pointedly at Tony. "And either way, the director of SHIELD cannot be killed with impunity. It'd be good if we could all remember that." He then glanced over at Clint. "Can you retrieve her without causing an alarm?"

The archer smirked, preening. "Of course. I know SHIELD HQ better than anyone else, even Fury."

* * *

He swung down in front of Natasha, as dangerous as an oncoming train. "Have you forgotten all our stealth training? It only took me two minutes to find you." He grinned.

"Out of my way, Barton." She snapped. "Do not make me hurt you."

Clint sighed. "Nat. First, we both know I can take you any day. Second, have you thought about this? About the consequences of murdering the DIrector? Nat, they'll hunt you down, then shut down the Avengers."

"What do I care? I can go to ground once again, and no one will be able to find me." Replied Nat, tossing her head.

"Do you really believe that?" Was all Clint said.

* * *

She came stalking back into the tower, with steps that would be called stomping, if it weren't for her sheer feline grace. "Well? Someone had better have a plan, or I'm going back right this moment."

Tony glared at her. "Why would we tell you? You shut down my JARVIS." he then paused, and looked at the nearest camera. "JARVIS, take away admin from Natasha Romanov."

"Yes, sir." came JARVIS, slightly more stilted than normal. "Admin control removed from Romanov, Natasha."

Tony half-pouted, half-glared at Natasha, but didn't say anything else.

* * *

"Well?" Barked Fury. "What was so important that this meeting couldn't be held in my office?"

"Merely so no one will hear you scream." Was Natashas' only comment as she knocked him out unconscious.

* * *

AN: Sorry 'bout the shortness. I'm getting used to typing on my tablet bluetooth keyboard... And I cant decide if I want Fury to ve working on his own, or under the Tesseract - Yes, I know, in the movie, it was the Chituari, but...


End file.
